The fandoms of Naruto and One Piece are two vying forces that have been at war for years, each trying to determine which one is objectively superior. Both series have their strengths and weaknesses that appeal to their massive fanbases. However, there’s one thing One Piece fans often criticize about Naruto which doesn’t make much sense.
They believe Naruto is a child of privilege and that everything he has accomplished is due to his background and his connections. Without even delving too deeply into the topic, it becomes quite clear that Naruto and Luffy aren’t that far apart in this respect. Even then, One Piece fans calling Naruto a gifted child is just a result of their bias towards Luffy.
One Piece Fans Calling Naruto a Child of Privilege is the Peak of Delusion
Throughout Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, we see Naruto grow into a more capable version of himself. He was an orphan who wielded a monstrous power within him, which made him an outcast. For most of his early years, he was all by himself.
All his achievements up until the war were a result of his hard work. Famous Naruto YouTuber Swagkage made an X post with a detailed description of how Naruto gained his powers in the series.
too many people think Naruto was some kind of mega talented privileged genius prodigy who had everything handed to him and didn’t work for his power.
this is not true at all. https://t.co/kdDKvWNrTj pic.twitter.com/pilOkvB9VN
— Swagkage (@Swagkage) May 12, 2023
The privileges that make Naruto a target of this argument are his connection with the fourth Hokage and Kurama. He never got any additional respect or benefits for being the Hokage’s son, except for getting to train with Jiraiya. As for Kurama, he was always ready to kill Naruto, until he won him over.
The boy had to undergo intense training to gain control over Kurama. His connections with the big shots of his world and training under them was the only advantage Naruto had over the others. But, in this respect Luffy is the exact same as Naruto.
Luffy and Naruto Are Not That Different
Throughout One Piece, Luffy gets many advantages and plot armor just because of who he is. It started as early as the Loguetown arc, where Luffy was close to being executed but was seemingly saved by Dragon. In almost every arc after that, he landed himself in life-threatening situations and had to be saved.
In Alabasta, Robin saved Luffy, in Thriller Bark, he was saved by Zoro. He has also been saved by Kuma during Sabaody. Moreover, he now wields a special devil fruit that was seen last in the story almost 800 years ago. A power like that is not much different from what Naruto has in the form of Kurama.
Both characters have experienced numerous hardships and they continue to work hard irrespective of them. This is what makes them special, in addition to their lovable personalities. And while they had factors that made them exceptional, it was their conscious decision and effort to make the use of those factors. Therefore, it’s unfair to call either of them privileged, as it diminishes what they’ve done so far in their respective journeys.
One Piece and Naruto are available to stream on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
